U.S. Men’s Team Easily Beats Undermanned Mexico, 3-0

On a brutally hot Sunday afternoon at East Rutherford, N.J., the United States beat an understrength Mexican team, 3-0, to win the U.S. Cup for the first time since 1995.

“Because of the controversy surrounding the Mexican team, we had everything to lose and in some ways nothing to gain,” U.S. Coach Bruce Arena said. “We would have been ridiculed if we didn’t win this.”

Brian McBride scored in the 33rd minute, and Frankie Hejduk and Ante Razov added goals in the final 12 minutes. It was the final tuneup for the U.S. before it starts qualifying for the 2002 World Cup with a July 16 game at Antigua or Guatemala.

Mexico, which had won the previous three editions of this tournament, didn’t send its regular national team, instead dispatching a roster stocked mostly from the club Pumas, including the coach.

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Shannon MacMillan’s penalty kick with 11 minutes left gave the United States a 1-0 victory over Australia at Newcastle, Australia, and the championship in the inaugural Pacific Cup, a major tuneup for the Olympics.

Although tied in the standings with China and Canada with 12 points, a superior goal difference gave the U.S. the trophy in the six-nation tournament.

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World Cup champion France made a commanding start in the European Championships at Rotterdam, Netherlands, but for the second consecutive day violence struck.

The French defeated Denmark, 3-0. Italy needed a second-half penalty kick to beat Turkey, 2-1, and Netherlands downed the Czech Republic, 1-0, on a penalty kick with two minutes left.

The Italy-Turkey game prompted a fight between rival fans watching on a giant screen 125 miles away in Genk, Belgium. The game itself was played without trouble in the Dutch city of Arnhem.

Police intervened with nightsticks, and several people were hurt although no serious injuries were reported.

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Canada advanced to the semifinals of 2002 World Cup regional qualifying by tying Cuba, 0-0, at Winnipeg, Canada, in the second game of a home-and-home, total-goals playoff. . . . Guatemala beat Antigua and Barbuda, 1-0, at St. John’s, Antigua, in the teams’ first wild-card matchup of the World Cup qualifying series.